Come Morning Light
by cantdrownmydemons22
Summary: Anon asked: Make a story where Barry's a kid and Oliver has to take care of him. Barry gets turned into a kid by a metahuman in Starling and now Oliver has to take care of him. He just hopes Joe can get to Starling. Fast.
1. Chapter 1

**This is a kid fic. Sorta. Anonymous guest asked for a story where Barry is a kid and Oliver has to take care of him. This is what my mind came up with. It took a totally different turn then I intended it... I hope this was what you meant. It also turned out longer than my usual fics.**

 **Sorry if they're wayyy OOC. Fisher is also an OC I made up for the sake of the story.**

 **Disclaimer: Nope. The characters of this belongs to their respective show(s)/book(s) and creator(s) of said shows/books**

-TA-TF-

How did he end up having to take care of a kid? He's never even taken care of a pet, much less a kid, and if he's honest with himself- he has no idea what he's doing. Oliver just hopes the kid sleeps through the day, until they find a way to turn Barry back.

How this happened is unbelievable. He remembers Barry came to Starling City to catch a metahuman (No. Suspect. Oliver refuses to call them _metahumans_ ) . One of Central City's _criminals_ seemingly ran to Starling City after getting spooked by the Flash. The criminal, Fisher they learned his name, is clearly an idiot if he ran to the city with the Arrow patrolling the streets. So Flash came to Starling City, and since it was surprisingly quiet, Oliver decided to help the scarlet speedster. Fisher can apparently change people's ages. Why anyone would have that power is a mystery and simply a pain in the ass. Especially since the criminal changed the Flash into a little kid. Arrow had quickly subdued the man and turned his attention to Barry. The kid, an actual kid now, had luckily been unconscious. After much debating, one heated argument with Felicity, and a phone call to Central City; Oliver finally went home and took the still unconscious kid with him. They couldn't exactly do a full examination of Barry since they did not have the equipment to check the vitals of a speedster. Of course they made do and so far it seemed the kid was fine and healthy.

"Dad?" A small, scared voice called out from Oliver's room. Shit. So much for sleeping the entire day away. The voice came again, louder this time. This time Oliver reacted, walking to the room. He found a very young, very scared looking Barry staring at him from the bed.

"You're not my dad..." Barry mumbled, twisting the blanket he was under between his tiny hands. He couldn't have been older than maybe four. Oliver gave him what he hoped was a friendly smile.

"No I'm not. Do you know who I am?"

He only got a head shake as a response. Great, that means Barry probably doesn't remember anything. Suddenly the kid fell backwards, throwing the covers over his head, hiding under the blankets, the international sign of a terrified kid. Oliver moved closer to the bed, unsure of what to do. He gently sat down next to the lump under the covers.

"Its okay. I'm a friend," Oliver said. There were a few minutes of silence, before Barry pulled the blankets down so only his eyes could peer out from under the covers.

"No you're not," Barry said quietly, "I don't know you. How can we be friends if I don't know you?"

He smiled, laughing softly; "You got me there, kid. I'm Oliver."

Another silence settled between the two, during which Barry still didn't move from under the blankets. Oliver tried to relax, not wanting to scare the kid further. Caitlin had said that they will try to figure something out at Star labs and that in the meantime Oliver had to make sure Barry's fine until Joe could come and get him. Unfortunately it will take the detective a while to make the trip from Central to Starling.

"My mom says I shouldn't talk to strangers," Barry said and instantly frowned, "Where's my mom?"

The question sent a sharp pain to Oliver's chest and his smile dropped. Barry picked up on his expression and instantly tears gathered in the kid's eyes.

"Where's my mom? I want my mom!" The kid started crying, demanding to see his mother. Oliver felt himself start to panic. How do you tell a little kid that his mother is dead? Has been for years. And that his father is in jail for her murder? Barry continued to yell, tears streaming down his chubby child cheeks.

"She-She's not here. She asked me to look after you while she's gone," Oliver lied, trying to swallow the lump in his throat. Barry had turned so his face was buried in the pillow and when he spoke his voice came out muffled; "Wher's she? Why'd she leave me?"

Not knowing what to say, Oliver instead put a timid, comforting hand on Barry's back. The kid was small, even for his age. The action seemed to spur something in the kid, because suddenly Barry turned and launched himself into Oliver's chest. A surprised rush of air left Oliver's lungs. Without giving it much thought he pulled the kid into his lap. Barry clutched Oliver's shirt between his hands, burying his face in Oliver's chest. Carefully one hand came up to rub Barry's back soothingly, while the other curled around the kid to keep him from falling. He sat listening to the kid sob, murmuring words of comfort. Not knowing what happened or where your parents are must seriously be scaring the kid. Eventually the crying subsided, replaced by hiccups. The kid rubbed the material of Oliver's shirt, where his hand still held tight, between his fingers. Not wanting to start anything else, Oliver remained quiet, still rubbing Barry's back. The sound of Barry's sniffing and a distant car horn were the only thing in the room.

"I'm hungry." The statement was so absurd after that, that Oliver could only stare at the kid. Finally breaking out of his daze, he helped the kid off his lap.

"Yeah, sure. I'll make you something to eat." Oliver said, smiling at Barry. Barry's eyes were red and puffy from crying, and he pulled up a small fist rubbing at his eyes. The patch of shirt covered by tears and snot stuck to Oliver's chest, but he didn't mind. At least the kid finished crying. He stood up and started walking away when a tug on his shirt stopped him. He turned to look down questioningly at Barry.

"You're really my friend?" Barry asked, looking hopeful.

"Yes." Oliver replied. The kid held up his hand with his pinky extended.

"Pinky promise?" The action was so unbelievably cute and childlike that Oliver could do nothing but lace his finger with the kid.

"Promise. Now let's get you something to eat." Oliver once again turned and started walking, making his way to the kitchen. He got to the living room when he felt something grab his hand. He looked down to see that Barry had grabbed his hand. The kid seemed happy to just hold his hand. The hand was so small compared to his own. It was also soft whereas his were calloused from years of using the bow. He felt weird, having something so innocent to take care off when he himself was so far from it. He almost felt guilty and maybe he should call Felicity to come and get the kid. Of course one look down into the kid's face made that feeling disappear. The kid looked so trusting, even though he sort of just met Oliver. Damn it. No one should look at him with such open trust or adoration. Sighing he decided on fixing the kid something to eat, before dealing with anything else. Suddenly a new problem arose; What do you give a four year old to eat?

Just when he had his phone out to call Felicity for help, the woman burst through his door carrying an arm full of groceries.

"Sorry! Sorry! I'm thinking we're beyond knocking plus I figured you need help," Felicity continued talking as she put all the groceries on the table. How she managed to not run into something or fall was beyond Oliver. When she finally turned to face him she spotted Barry, "oh! Hey."

Barry ducked behind Oliver, hiding from Felicity. His small body almost completely disappeared behind Oliver's legs. When Felicity tried introducing herself he only peeked his head out a couple of inches.

"No need to be afraid. Are you hungry? I bet mean man Oliver hasn't even given you anything to eat yet-" Oliver sent her a glare at that, "- but I brought snacks. Li-ike" Felicity turned to the bags, digging around and after a few moments of rummaging she pulled out a tub of ice cream, "Ice cream!"

"Like he's going to accept you, because you brought ice cream," Oliver said, rolling his eyes. To his astonishment Barry actually came out from his hiding place behind him and grinned. Felicity sent him a triumphant look. Right. Fastest way to a speedster's and a kid's heart; food.

"Well come here and let's see if we can't find bowls. I even brought chocolate sauce!" Felicity said. Soon they were both busy in Oliver's kitchen building their own sundaes. Naturally Felicity went all out and brought everything you can put on ice cream; sprinkles, chocolate balls, different kinds of sauce etc. Oliver felt a fond smile grace his face as he saw the scene unfold before him. Barry immediately warmed up to Felicity, which really wasn't that surprising considering how good they got along when they first met.

"Aren't you gonna get ice cream?" Barry asked him, staring at him from behind his huge bowl of ice cream. Oliver just hoped the kid wasn't going to have a sugar rush. A grown speedster was bad enough, but a four year old speedster on a sugar rush?

"Of course I am," Oliver replied moving towards the pair.

-TF-TA-

Oliver gave a low groan, stretching is aching limbs. That was the second movie Felicity and Barry roped him into watching. Felicity clearly adopted a little partner in crime. Whatever she suggested Barry would just back her up. No matter how strong willed he claims he is, he couldn't resist both of them giving him puppydog eyes. Thus how he found himself suffering through two disney movies with Barry on the floor with a pile of blankets and a mountain of pillows. Felicity is on the couch next to him. When he had sat down she immediately plopped next to him, pushing her feet under his thighs with her back on the arm rest.

Glancing at her now, he saw she had a soft smile on her face. He followed her line of sight and saw that Barry was fast asleep. She nudged his leg with her foot, pointing her head in Barry's direction. He frowned, giving her a questioning look. She rolled her eyes.

"He can't sleep on the floor," suddenly she got a mocking smile, "go tuck him in."

"No."

"Yes. Go!"

"Why can't you do it?"

"Queen."

"Fine," Oliver sighed, giving up after Felicity sent him an exasperate look. Standing up, he put the empty bowl of popcorn on the couch next to him. Wiping his hands on his jeans, he bent down next to the kid. Initially his intend was to wake him up, but looking at him now he didn't have the heart. Instead he gently scooped the kid up, carrying him bridal style. A few incoherent mumbles escaped, but other than that he was still fast asleep. Oliver could feel hot air waft over his collarbone with every breath Barry took. Arriving at his room he walked over to the bed. He somehow managed to balance the kid and pull back the bed covers. Gently putting Barry down, he pulled the covers over the small form. Staring at the kid's sleeping face he felt the urge do lean down and press a kiss to his temple. So he did. Oliver leaned down, gently running his fingers through Barry's hair and pressed a kiss to his forehead. He straightened up, making his way to the door. Casting one last look over the sleeping form, he switched the light off and made his way back to Felicity with a small smile he would deny ever having if asked in the future.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Sooo I got a lot of comments from people for an update. I had this idea turning in my head and decided 'What the Hell' might as well post it.**

 **Seriously thank you all for commenting/favouriting/following! X3 it seriously made my day. A big thanks to the Anon Guest (They know who they are) this was originally written for/because of you and I'm seriously glad you especially liked it.**

 **Well I bored you enough. Just one more thing. If any of you want to read a particular situation between Oliver and little!Barry just leave a comment and I might do it :3**

 **-TA-TF-**

 **IMPORTANT**

 **This is set while they were making sundaes.**

 **-TA-TF-**

If someone were to enter the apartment now they'd only hear the wonderful sound of a kid's joyful laughter. That person might also be confused seeing as this is the esteemed playboy billionaire Oliver Queen's apartment. The laughter ,belonging to four-year old Barry Allen, filled the entire apartment. He couldn't be happier making ice cream sundaes with his two new friends.

Oliver had only stepped out for a minute to take a call from Diggle (apparently Diggle and Roy could handle patrolling without him tonight and Oliver should stay on babysitting duty.) And the sight that greeted him when he came back stopped him dead in his tracks. Barry was covered in ice cream and various other pieces of candy. Felicity sent him a sheepish look, claiming that Barry had accidentally knocked his bowl over. The kid did not seem disturbed by the fact that he was covered from head to toe in ice cream, in fact he was joyfully licking the ice cream off his fingers. Barry noticed chocolate sauce on his left elbow and frowned when he realised he couldn't reach the spot to just lick it off. Felicity picked up the fallen bowl of ice cream, making sure the left over ice cream didn't melt on the floor. It didn't help much since the frozen dessert started dripping off of Barry on to the tile floor.

"Sorry," Barry mumbled, voice filled with embarrassment.

"Its okay. Don't worry about it." Oliver said, stepping closer to help Felicity clean up.

"Barry. Maybe you should take a bath to clean up?" Felicity suggested. Barry shook his head, eyes widening.

"I don't wanna." Barry answered. Oliver straightened from his task of wiping the floor with a wet washcloth.

"She's right, Barry. You're a mess." Oliver said, opening the taps at the sink, rinsing out the washcloth.

"No!" Barry protested, crossing his arms. Oliver gave him a scowl. Felicity took the damp washcloth from his hands, taking it upon herself to finish the task after noticing that this argument might not end soon.

"Barry." Oliver said with a warning in his tone, "don't make me drag you into a bath."

Barry got a mischievous grin, bouncing in his seat;"Try and catch me."

Felicity laughed, seeing Oliver's disbelieving look. Oliver grit his teeth, moving closer, but suddenly there was a rush of wind and the seat in front of him was empty. He glanced around, spotting Barry across the room. The kid looked amazed at how fast he cleared the distance to the other side of the room.

"Oliver! Did you see what I did? I'm fast!" Barry exclaimed. His happy grin dropped however when he saw Felicity and Oliver's expressions. They both wore a look of worry and shock.

"D-did I do something wrong?" Barry asked, this time in a soft, scared voice.

"No. You didn't do anything wrong Barry," Oliver began, forcing a smile, "Just don't run like that again. Okay?"

Oliver felt bad when he saw the kid give a sad nod, but he couldn't exactly let the kid run around with his powers. How was he going to explain to Joe that he lost Barry, because the kid ran after an ice cream truck or something like that? No, better to stay on the safe side.

"How about that bath now?" Felicity said, walking over to Barry. The kid gave another silent nod and held his arms up. A surprised look passed over Felicity's face, before she smiled and bent down to pick the kid up, uncaring of the sticky mess covering Barry. Oliver went back to cleaning the chaos in his kitchen. He looked up when Felicity reemerged from the bathroom a few minutes later. She sent him a bright smile, moving to the bags.

"Luckily I thought ahead and bought him extra clothes." Felicity said. She picked up a bag that Oliver presumed contained clothes.

"Thanks. I didn't even think of that." Oliver thanked her. Honestly, this blonde tech helped him out of a lot of situations and he's grateful for it even if he doesn't always show it.

"I know. I know. I'm awesome, how did you ever survive without me etc etc."

She ducked back into the bathroom, leaving Oliver to take care of the mess on his own.

A sigh escaped him as he uncharacterisiticly fell on the arm chair. How was it possible that a four year old could create such a mess in the kitchen? He rest his head on the back of the arm chair and closed his eyes. He was just about to drift off when a squeal coming from the direction of bathroom woke him. Instantly on alert he made to stand up, but fell back when a sudden weight landed on his lap. Oliver was about to react and push the attacker off and to the ground, but resisted when he caught a glimpse of the familiar mischievous smile. Droplets of water hit him as the kid in his lap continued to squirm.

"Barry! You're hair is till wet. Come here and let me blow dry it," Felicity called, stepping into the living room. The kid shook his shaggy, wet hair causing more stray droplets to hit Oliver. The billionaire let out a pained grunt when the kid's knee connected with a particular soft spot.

"No. That's for girls." Barry said.

"Then at least let me towel dry it." Felicity tried again. She had a hand on her hip and held a fluffy, white towel in the other. Barry wrinkled his nose, but stilled, allowing Felicity to place the towel on his hair. Oliver let out a relieved sound when Barry finally stopped squirming and settled in his lap.

"I got it." Oliver said, taking the towel from Felicity. The blond tech asked if he was sure and he gave her a nod. He started slowly rubbing the towel in Barry's hair, making sure he didn't pull to hard on the brown strands. The kid sat quietly, pulling on the ends of his new red sweater, lost in his own thoughts. Maybe kids are not all bad.

-TA-TF-

 **AN: there ya go :3 There might be another chapter or two coming...**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: whelp here's another one. This chapter is definitely thanks to** **Sagitarscorpion1** **. Sorry it took me so long to update, but I had a surprisingly difficult time writing this chapter. Mostly because life got in the way. I already have an idea for the next chapter and was halfway through planning it when I got another prompt from guests which I liked, so I have to go work that in!**

 **This chapter does not have much fluff, but the next one will.**

 **IMPORTANT**

 **This is set at the end of the first chapter. Sorry for any confusion.**

 **-TA-TF-**

Oliver was about to bid Felicity goodnight when his phone rang. When he answered it, it was Diggle. The man explained that they needed his help. Kenneth, a jewel thief they were chasing down, had knocked both Diggle and Roy out with some type of gas and ran. Luckily the gas only knocked them out for while, but it was long enough that the man had a fairly good head start. Felicity ,using Oliver's laptop, had tracked the man down. Kenneth was literally heading to the alleyway next to Oliver's apartment. Oliver quickly donned the Arrow suit (it was at the apartment ,because once Barry was knocked unconscious Oliver immediately went to his apartment, not wanting the kid to wake up under Verdant) and grabbed his bow. He was just about ready to head out when a soft voice stopped him; "Oliver?"

Oliver turned to find a very sleepy Barry looking at him from the doorway of his bedroom. The kid's hair stood out at various angles and he brought a hand up to rub at his eye.

"Where 're you going?" Barry asked with childlike curiosity. He seemed to be fighting to keep his eyes open. Oliver cursed silently. The man was getting closer and he did not want to miss him. If he did then they might end up chasing after Kenneth all night.

"I'm just heading out for a minute. Stay here with Felicity, okay?" Oliver said already heading for the door. He was out the apartment, before Barry even had a chance respond.

"I lost sight of him, but he should be rounding the corner into your alley now," Felicity's voice informed from the earpiece in his ear. Oliver shifted slightly from his spot on the fire escape. Finally he heard footsteps approaching. Kenneth rounded the corner and seemed to be stumbling slightly. Oliver jumped, silently landing a few paces in front of the man. Kenneth started, stumbling back a few steps.

"Great. You're like-like that other guy! Get away from me, man!" Kenneth said, his voice came out hoarse and he let out a cough at the end of the sentence. Arrow knocked an arrow and brought it level with the guy.

"Make it easier for both of us and don't move." Oliver demanded. The guy looked like he wanted to gasp, but he ended up hacking instead. Spittle and mucus flew out the guy's mouth, dribbling down his chin slightly. Arrow moved closer to apprehend the man, but Kenneth clearly didn't want to be taken down so easily and pulled out a rusty looking knife. This caused Oliver to roll his eyes. Really? Clearly the man knew he was out matched if the look on his face was anything to go by. The man fidgeted, licking his lips in a nervous manner. A clatter came from the trashcan a few paces behind Kenneth. They both glanced to see what it was and Oliver felt his stomach drop when he caught glimpse of a red sweater. Kenneth smirked and before Oliver could react the man had grabbed Barry by the arm, pulling him closer. Barry let out a startled cry and tried ripping his arm away from Kenneth. The man growled, tightening his grip on Barry. He pulled so the kid was in front of him, placing the knife close to Barry's throat. Arrow growled stepping closer, but stopped when the man tightened his grip.

"That hurts." Barry whined, tears gathering in his eyes. Anger flared in Oliver.

"What kind of dick uses a little kid as a shield?" Arrow growled. He knew it was stupid, but right now he just felt anger towards the man. A passing car shed a little light in the alley for a few moments, exposing the tears threating to fall down Barry's cheeks. The kid looked confused, but mostly scared.

"Ha. Now you're gonna let me leave, otherwise the sweater won't be the only thing that's red in this alley." Kenneth said with a sick grin. His condescending tone made Arrow grit his teeth. Oliver surveyed the situation trying to find a plan that will ensure Barry gets out unharmed. With every whimper the kid made, Oliver felt his anger grow towards the man, making it harder to think. Shit. This would be a lot easier if the kid wasn't an actual _kid._ Suddenly he got an idea. He tensed with renewed determination. Kenneth was eyeing him suspiciously now. Hoping this will work, Oliver focused his attention on Kenneth entirely. He slowly slipped his fingers in place around the arrow that was still knocked in the bow.

"Hey, kid." Arrow began still looking at Kenneth, but addressing Barry, "You remember that thing you're not supposed to do?" A timid nod "Do it."

"Hey wait! What's going on?" Kenneth asked. The man sent a suspicious glance between him and Barry.

"But...you said I shouldn't do it.." Barry mumbled. Oliver felt his panic start to grow. Usually he could keep his cool, but four-year old Barry in this situation was making him anxious. Any moment Kenneth could decide to end it.

"Do it, kid." Arrow said with more of a command in his voice. This time the kid only hesitated half a second, before doing what Oliver told him to do. Kenneth could only snarl out a "Hey wai-" before the kid in front of him blurred in a streak of red and yellow. Arrow waited till he knew the kid was safely out of the line of fire, before bringing his arrow back up and releasing it. The sound of something hitting flesh resounded and Oliver knew he hit his mark. A gasp came from behind him and Arrow turned to find Barry staring at the man, who fell with a hard 'thud' on the concrete. Something clicked and Oliver rushed to the kid, picking him up.

"Don't look." Oliver said softly, realizing a dead body is not something a little kid needs to see. Barry buried his face in Oliver's neck. The action caused the hood to slip back slightly. He could feel something wet rub against his neck. Another car passed and Arrow moved, not wanting to be seen.

Back at the apartment Felicity was in tears. She apologised furiously, stating she just looked away for a couple of minutes to track down the man and didn't notice Barry slipping out the door. Now Oliver had two people crying in his apartment. He felt a headache coming on. Barry cried, either out of fear or because Felicity was crying, and Felicity was crying out of guilt. He tried calming down both of them, but only succeeded in consoling Felicity. He tried handing the crying kid to her, so he could go change, but Barry clung to him. Oliver tried again, but the kid only tightened his grip.

"Barry. You're okay now. You need to let go." Oliver said once again trying, and failing, to let the kid loosen his grip. Barry shook his head, which was still buried in Oliver's neck. "Barry. Please? Just for a moment."

Reluctantly Barry let go and Oliver quickly passed him over to Felicity.

Later, after bidding Felicity goodbye, Oliver found himself with a four-year old who refused to sleep. Barry was tucked in the billionaire's bed and said billionaire was seated next to him. Even the pillows seemed big compared to Barry.

"Why did the man want to hurt me?" Barry mumbled, quietly.

"Because he was a bad man." Oliver replied. He looked down at the kid's face. It was a close call with Kenneth. They were lucky enough Barry got out unscathed, _this time._ They needed to figure out a way to get Barry back to normal, before their luck runs out.

"Why are there bad people in the world?" The kid asked. The lamp on the bedside table next to Barry was the only source of light in the room. The low, orange glow cast shadows over half of Barry's face, but Oliver could still see his slightly puffy eyes. Grabbing the covers, Oliver pulled it tighter over Barry. A few more moments of silence passed before he gave the kid a response.

"I don't know, kid."


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: well this story is getting a lot longer than I intended...This chapter is a bit meh, the next one is better. Thanks to everyone for the continued support! I love reading your reviews and thanks for all the follows/ favourites. And a huge thanks to** **Guesty** **who's been awesome and helpful. Seriously your reviews always make me smile x) . And kudos to you for noticing how sick Kenneth was. That was on purpose so that it would be easier to write a sick!fic and have it still work with the rest of the plot. Also thanks for the lovely ideas to blend everything ^.^ also you did remind me of Cisco and Caitlin and gave me an awesome idea! X3 I know in this its Joe (I figured since Joe was his dad and has raised kids that Oliver might call him first) , but do not fear Cisco and Caitlin will also make an appearance as suggested by you and** **.mud** **.**

 **To everyone else; thanks for the AMAZING suggestions :) I have them noted in my notepad and will try to work in most of them as best as I can, while also keeping to how I want the story to play through.**

 **Thanks SO much to the person who pointed out that I accidentally wrote that Barry was five when he is four. I fixed that :) . Hopefully ...**

 **-TA-TF-**

"Do you think that creep got him sick?" Felicity's voice came through the phone. Oliver sighed, rubbing his eyes tiredly. That might actually be a possibility considering how bad Kenneth had stumbled and coughed last night. This morning Barry had woken up hacking up a lung. At first Oliver had thought Barry might be choking, but after a couple of minutes the coughing had subsided. Oliver had immediately called Felicity.

"What do I do? Or can't you just come back?" Oliver asked, hoping the plea in his voice wasn't too obvious. A crackling sound escaped the speaker and Oliver could only assume the blond tech had given him a fond sigh.

"I can't always come play babysitter, Oliver. I have things to do," Felicity began, "although I do miss the kid...he's adorable. Maybe it won't be so bad if he stays a kid. Oh man, I'm going to be crying my eyes out when he goes home"

"Felicity. I don't know what to do." The last part being reluctantly admitted.

"Okay. Well does he have a fever? What are his symptoms?"

"Uhm.."

"Oh dear. How did you ever survive." Oliver scowled, making his way to where Barry was still tucked in Oliver's bed.

"Hold on." Oliver said, placing the phone on the night stand. Glassy eyes peered up at him from behind sweaty bangs.

"Hey, kid. How are you feeling?" Oliver asked, receiving a pained whimper in response. He sat down on the edge of the bed next to Barry. His hand came up, softly stroking the kids hair back and he placed the back of his hand on Barry's forehead. The heat easily rolled from the kid's skin onto his hand. Definitely a fever. He had to draw his hand back as a coughing fit suddenly over took Barry. Gently he stroked the kid's back till it subsided.

"My throat hurts." Barry whined, his voice hoarse. Oliver didn't know what to do. Remembering Felicity was on the phone, he picked it up, bringing it back to his ear.

"He has a fever, he's coughing, sneezing and his throat hurts." Oliver relayed Barry's symptoms. Felicity let out a small chuckle, which caused Oliver to frown.

"Its not funny! What if he has strep throat, sinusitis, pneumonia, or bronchitis? Can't you just get here?" Oliver said. This time he got a full out laugh from the woman.

"Relax, mom. Its just the old, nasty common cold. Kids get them all the time." Felicity tried reassuring him. Oliver chose to ignore the 'mom' comment and instead asked her what he's supposed to do.

"I don't know. I never really took care of a kid before, ya know." Felicity replied, "Maybe call Joe? He should know."

Oliver grimaced at the thought of calling the detective. Not that he disliked the man, more so that he didn't really want to admit that Barry was sick. For some reason he felt responsible and guilt flared up in his chest. Feeling ridiculous he bid Felicity goodbye and hung up.

"Oliv'r?" Barry mumbled, "I feel icky."

The kid's cheeks were flushed from the fever and his lips cracked. He was breathing deeply with his mouth, indicating his nose was stuffed.

"I know. Go to sleep and I'll get you something that will help you feel better."

Barry did just that. His eyes slipped closed and Oliver stood up, already pulling Detective West's number from his phone. He waited till he was a safe distance, the kitchen, before dialing the number. The tone rang twice, before the man answered.

"Joe West," a deep voice answered.

"Detective West. Its Oliver Queen." Oliver said, hoping Joe had time to talk.

"Right! Queen. I was on my way calling you actually. I should be in Starling by tonight to pick Barry up."

"That's good to know, but I actually called you about something else..."

"What's wrong? Is Barry okay?" The concern was obvious in Joe's voice.

"He's okay," Oliver began slowly, "he's just- well he kind of woke up sick this morning," he closed his eyes, feeling unusually embarrassed, " and-"

"-and you don't know what to give him?" Joe finished for him, with, surprisingly, not a hint of anger in his voice. Oliver let out a forced laugh.

"That obvious? Yeah-yes, I have no idea what I should give him. Felicity said its just the common cold." Oliver said. He cleared his throat, "I'm sorry."

"Sorry?" Joe asked, confusion prominent, "about Barry being sick?" Just like Felicity the detective laughed, causing Oliver to scowl. "You don't need to be sorry. Kids get sick all the time-especially if they're under five. Something to do with their immune systems not being strong enough to protect their bodies at that age. Iris herself used to get the cold at least five times a year."

Relief filled Oliver when he realized the man was not upset. He has no idea why the man being upset meant something to him. Before he could dwell on it any longer, Joe spoke up again;

"Unfortunately there's nothing really you can do to cure the common cold. Best you can do his give him something that will relieve some of the symptoms. Of course him being four means you can't give him aspirin for the headache or fever...over-the-counter medicine are not that reliable either. In fact sometimes it can have a lot of bad side effects, but you can give him saline nose drops, also make sure he drinks a lot of juice and water- no caffeine- and a warm bath or heating pad to soothe aches and pains. Chicken soup works too-not just an old wife's tale you know- and lots of rest."

Oliver listened intently, occasionally making a sound to indicate he was listening. His worry grew when he realized he can't exactly give Barry specific medicine.

"Anything else?" Oliver asked.

"Not really. If he doesn't feel better in the next three days, then its better to call the doctor, but you don't have to worry about that since I'll be picking him up tonight." Joe informed him. Oliver felt a strange feeling grow at the statement, but ignored it and instead thanked the detective. Its definitely been a strange experience since Barry got changed into a kid yesterday. Not knowing how to handle the situation has been aggravating. If it wasn't for Felicity ,or Joe, then this predicament would have been hell. Maybe sometimes you do need to accept help from others. Bidding the detective goodbye, he hung up.

"Oliver!"

His name being called drew him back to Barry's room. He found the kid sitting up right with his legs tucked close to his body and his face buried between his knees. He hovered at the door waiting to see if the kid was going to explain why he called for him, but after a few moments of silence he walked closer, moving so he was standing next to the bed.

"Hey, Barry. Do you want something to eat?" Oliver asked. The kid shook his head still not looking up. Oliver frowned at Barry's lack of appetite, but decided not to press in fear of upsetting him further.

"Well, you need to at least drink something. Do you want some water or juice?"

"Juice." Came Barry's muffled reply. Nodding, Oliver started walking to the kitchen. There should be a carton of orange juice in the fridge. Orange is supposed to be good for the immune system, right?

How was he going to take care of a sick kid? So far he has managed four-year old Barry, mostly thanks to Felicity's help, but now the kid's sick which is just a whole new list of responsibilities. How do you even break a fever? ibuprofen? Was that even safe for kids? Maybe he should go to the drug store, or ask Felicity to go.

Oliver walked back to the room with a tall glass of orange juice. He found Barry still curled up in a ball on top of the covers. The kid's entire body was shaking and every so often a small, pitiful whimper would escaped. Oliver walked over, sitting down in front of Barry. Gently coaching Barry out of the ball, he handed the juice over, watching as the kid took grateful gulps. He took the now empty glass and stood up. Helping Barry lay down, he pulled the covers over the kid and made sure Barry was asleep, before quietly leaving the room.

It was about two hours later when Barry woke up. Oliver was watching tv (which he hasn't done in a while and he can't believe some of the crappy shows that are on TV) when Barry came shuffling out of the room wrapped tightly in a blanket.

"What are you doing out of bed?" Oliver asked. Barry walked/shuffled to the couch and climbed up next to Oliver. The green blanket slipped from the kid's shoulders, falling to the floor. Oliver bent down to retrieve the fallen blanket and rewrapped it over Barry's shaking shoulders. The kid gripped the blanket edges, pulling it tighter over his body.

"Do you want something? Food?" Oliver asked, wondering why the kid got out of bed. Barry shook his head, wiping his nose on his sleeve. Leaning over to the coffee table, Oliver grabbed a box of tissues and brought it closer for Barry.

"How about something to drink?" Once again Barry only shook his head 'no'. The kid started shivering badly and Oliver's concern grew.

"Are you cold? Do you want more blankets?" Head shake. Oliver scowled at the kid's lack of response. What else would he want? Suddenly something warm pressed to his side. Looking down Oliver saw that Barry had scooted closer, cuddling into his side. The kid's hands came crawling out of the blankets and gripped the side of his shirt tightly.

"Is this what you want? You just want me to stay?" This time his response was a head nod. Barry slid down so his head was pillowed in Oliver's lap. The kid was out like a light within seconds with only a cough or sniff occasionally disturbing his sleep. Oliver gently brought his hand back down, placing it on Barry's arm. He turned his attention back on screen where a guy suddenly got flung through the air, with his brother shooting a ghost(a not so crappy TV show). "Okay, kid. I'll stay."

Another hour later, Felicity came into his apartment, once again inviting herself in. Oliver heard her rummaging in the kitchen, before she came into view in the living room.

"Really? Stop looking like someone just tied a bomb onto your lap, he's not going to explode," Felicity admonished. Oliver sent her a glare from where he was still on the couch with Barry cuddled in his lap, "besides the worst he can do is get you sick."

"I never thought of that." Oliver said, now looking at the kid like he really was a ticking time bomb. Felicity could only roll her eyes at this.

"Well you should thank me, because I got what you asked for. I got saline drops and children ibuprofen. I also got something for his sore throat," she said, holding up a brown bag. Nodding, Oliver slowly slid out from under Barry and walked over to Felicity. Since Barry hasn't eaten anything yet, he decided to make the kid something to eat, before giving him the medicine.

Of course getting him to actually _eat_ something turned out to be a tedious task.

" _Come on,_ Barry. You haven't eaten anything all day," Oliver said exasperated. The kid shook his head rebelliously.

"M'not hungry." Barry said. The kid crossed his arms, pouting. Oliver narrowed his eyes.

"Its not up for debate. You can't take your medicine without eating something beforehand."

"But m'not hungry."

" _Barry."_

 _"Oliver."_

Oliver gaped at the kid. He heard Felicity trying to stiffle a laugh behind him. He turned to give her a heated glare.

"You could help, you know. I can't exactly do this on my own." Of course the statement caused Felicity to actually laugh out loud, not being able to hold it in.

"I'm sorry. That-that was just so funny," Felicity explained during giggles. She turned to Barry, "Barry, Oliver's right. If you don't eat, you can't get medicine which means you won't feel better."

A moment passed where the techy and speedster stared at each other, before Barry gingerly picked up the slice of toast and started nibbling on a corner piece. Mild irritation flared, because why would the kid listen to her and not him? Finally ,after a little over half of the toast was finished, he gave Barry his medicine. The kid started feeling drowsy again and this time Felicity went to tuck him in. Unfortunately the kid seemed to be feeling worse and started crying. It wasn't full-out bawling, only a couple of tears slipping out. He joined Felicity as they both tried to soothe the kid to sleep. Barry's coughing was getting worse and Oliver went to grab him a cup of water. It seemed to work since the coughing fit subsided for now and the kid managed to fall asleep.

Back in the kitchen his phone flashed, alerting him that he had a text. He opened the text to read it;

 **"** _ **You need to come to Central with Joe and Barry. Cisco found something worrisome...**_

 _ **-Caitlin"**_

 **-TA-TF-**

 **AN: sorry for the extra AN, but I am going to change the story from 'complete' to 'incomplete' (since this is obviously not completed even though it was supposed to be a one-shot XD)**


	5. Chapter 5

The sun was just about to set for the day when there was a knock at Oliver's door. Making his way to the door, Oliver grabbed a hunting knife and checked to see who it was. He put the knife in a nearby drawer, before opening the door for the Central City detective.

"Mr Queen, its good to see you. I apologise if this is a bit late..." Joe said, extending his hand to him.

"You too, Detective West," Oliver greeted, shaking the man's hand, "and please call me Oliver."

"Oliver then. You can keep calling me Detective West," Joe told him in a serious tone. Oliver straightened up, nodding his head. He thought the detective was serious till he saw the mocking grin on the man's face.

"I'm kidding. Lighten up. You can call me Joe."

Immediately the atmosphere relaxed between the two men.

"Where is Ba-" Joe's question was cut off by a very excited voice calling his name from the direction of the living room.

"Uncle Joe!" Suddenly a small four-year old was hugging Joe, who was caught by surprise, and before he could return the hug, the kid was already bouncing excitedly in front of him.

"Why are you here? Is dad with you? Did you bring the cop car? Can I ride in the cop car? Is Iris here?" Barry started asking questions one after the other, not giving Joe the chance to answer.

"Barry, calm down," Oliver tried calming the kid down," and why are you out of bed? You're sick."

Barry crossed his arms denying all facts that he's sick, unfortunately his statement was ruined when a row of coughs escaped at the end. Honestly, how the kid was even standing is astonishing considering how weak he was earlier the day. How kid's work will always be a mystery to Oliver. Joe bent down to give Barry a proper hug.

"Hey, kiddo. I came to get you. Are you okay? You look a little pale." Joe asked, concern lacing his voice. Oliver noticed the kid's face did pale and he also seemed light headed. Out of some paternal instinct Joe took Barry by the shoulders, guiding him in a chair to sit down. Oliver immediately went to fetch the kid a glass of water. When he came back Joe was talking softly to a still pale looking, but smiling, Barry.

"Take it easy, Barry. You can't get so excited. Want to watch cartoons?" Joe asked. Oliver handed the water over to Barry, before moving in search for the TV's remote control. Finally finding it he skipped through channels till he found cartoons.

"What do you say?" Joe asked, pointedly looking at Barry. The kid mumbled a 'thank you' before his attention was entirely fixed on the colourful figures. Joe was definitely taking this well, immediately switching to 'parent mode'. Its not hard for Oliver to see that this man was a father.

When the two men moved to the kitchen Felicity finally made an appearance. She gave the detective a friendly greeting and the three of them began discussing Barry. Oliver informed them about Caitlin's message.

"Right. So I guess you can get your things together and we can hit the road. Its better not to waste time," Joe said. Oliver nodded, turning to Felicity.

"Will you be fine? I can stay..." Oliver began, but the look Felicity sent him shut him up.

"No, go! We'll be fine. Arsenal and Diggle can handle Starling for a little while longer. I'm sure no mega, evil bad guy is planning something and even if there is, like I said, we can handle it," Felicity reassured him. He tried protesting again, but the blonde just rolled her eyes not hearing any of it. Reluctantly he caved in, going to pack a duffle bag.

 **-TA-TF-**

It was already dark out when they finally hit the road. Usually at this time Oliver would either be in Verdant or out patrolling around Starling. The lack of work these last two days got Oliver more worked up than relaxed. He can't help but feel like this is the calm before the storm. Like Starling was just _too_ quiet. Starling City was bad, not as bad as Gotham, but definitely worse than Central City. So of course it being this quiet ,with only one amature jewel thief, got Oliver worked up. Looking at the lights of passing cars, Oliver shook the feeling off. He'll deal with it as soon as he gets back.

Oliver glanced into the rear view mirror, watching Barry fidget in the back seat. Since its already dark, and will take them a couple of hours to get to Central, Felicity insisted in packing a pillow and blanket for Barry, so he could sleep if he wants to. He's pretty sure the makeshift bed is against traffic rules. Speaking of which...

"Shouldn't he be in a car seat?" Oliver asked, turning his attention to Joe. Joe glanced at Barry through the rear view mirror, before sending Oliver a sheepish smile.

"I...forgot the car seat. Actually I don't think we have one..." Joe said.

"Does that mean you have to pull yourself over for a ticket?" The joke made the detective laugh.

"Its not like I'm speeding- plus I'm sure Oliver Queen can talk anyone out of getting a ticket," Oliver wanted to object, but his response just died down when Joe gave him a knowing look, "don't act like you never talked yourself out of a ticket. I've seen you break record time driving that motorbike of yours from Starling to Central."

Oliver gave a short laugh, not having any _good_ response to that. The atmosphere settled after that and the two men, and kid, drove further in companionable silence. A couple of miles further, he heard a whimper from the back seat. He turned, asking Barry if he was okay. The kid was stretched out over the entire length of the back seat, clutching his abdomen. Barry shook his that no he was not okay. After a little more probing they found out that at least they did not need to stop, because Barry was not about to throw up, but the kid only felt 'icky' (Barry's wording). And like any four-year old, Barry wanted to be close to a parental figure, but since neither of his parents were here and Joe was driving that meant Oliver. At first both Joe and Oliver refused, but the kid pulled out the puppydog eyes and damn it no one can resist those, so that's how the billionaire found himself with a giggling four-year old in his lap...again. Joe chuckled, seeing Oliver's frown.

"At least if we get in an accident he's safer in your lap then back there with no seatbelt," Joe commented.

"I have to go against that and say that this is more dangerous." Oliver tightened his hold on Barry, suddenly paranoid. The kid leaning forward, started fiddling with the radio's volume button. Both grown men flinched when Lady Gaga's voice suddenly blared out at full volume. Joe sent Barry a disapproving look while Oliver quickly tried lowering the volume.

"If you want to sit in front you'll have to behave, Bar." Joe says, causing Barry to pout sadly. The kid leaned back, settling in Oliver's lap. After two more occurrences where Barry refused to behave -and almost managed to lose Joe's phone out the window- they heard a siren go off behind them. Seeing the red and blue lights, Oliver turned to give Joe an I-told-you-so-look. He received a shut-up-smartass-look in return.

After about fifteen minutes they drove away ticket free.

"I _told_ you we are going to get pulled over."

"And I told you, you can talk yourself out of getting a ticket."

 **-TA-TF-**

"When did they say they we're going to get here?" Caitlin heard Cisco ask from behind her.

"They got back in Central City late last night and Joe said that they'll be here first thing in the morning," Caitlin answered, turning to face Cisco, "Shouldn't be long now."

A few minutes later they both heard laughter, before a small kid ran into the lab. The kid froze when he saw them. They all just stared at each other and the kid brought his hand up, starting to chew on his thumb. Two figures appeared behind him; Joe and Oliver.

Soon ,after introductions were made, Caitlin found herself staring at the kid. She can't believe this four-year old was Barry. Well, she could, because the kid seemed familiar, but it didn't change the fact that the situation was weird. This was the same person she kissed when she got drunk. (Barry told her and she can't believe that happened. She was so embarrassed when she found out) The kid, probably noticing her stare, turned staring right back at her. Okay this was getting creepy. She turned her attention back on Oliver who was explaining ,once again, what exactly happened. An excited bark interrupted him. The German Shepard made its way to Joe, happily greeting the man by licking his hand.

"Hey, boy. Nice to see you too." Joe said bending dow to rub the dogs ears. Barry, who was standing next to Joe, was staring at the dog with a nervous look, but with an encouraging nod from the detective the kid came forward slowly stretching his hand out to the dog. The German Shepard immediately drew his attention from Joe to Barry, pushing his snout under the kid's hand. Barry gave a gleeful laugh, petting the dog.

"The dog's name is Ginger. He's one of my friends' in the precincts dog. He had to go out of town for a week and asked if I could look after Ginger." Joe explained to Oliver and Barry. The scene made Caitlin want to 'awww' from the cuteness. The dog was sitting in front of Barry, almost as tall as the kid, wagging its tail whenever the kid spoke to him.

"Why did you ask me to come? Did you find a way to-" Oliver glanced at Barry, but luckily the kid was distracted by his new furry friend, "- help Barry?"

"Oh yeah that. Well we managed to get samples, which was hard and I don't want to know how Joe managed that, from one of the other officers Fisher changed and ran some tests, but what we saw was so weird-and worrisome- when the cells were put under-" Cisco started explaining, but was cut off by Caitlin:

"Long story short we can't find anything to turn Barry back ourselves." Caitlin sent Cisco an apologetic look, but right now the details were not important, "and you mentioned Barry was sick right?"

"Yes, but he seems better now. How's this relevant? Kenneth got him sick." Oliver said, confused.

"Well, that's the thing: its not some common cold that got him sick. To put it simply, we noticed that after a while the de aging cells would slowly begin to suffocate, before dying out completely." Cisco's grim tone seemed so out of place for the usually happy man.

"So Barry's...?" Joe couldn't finish the sentence. At Caitlin's nod Joe felt cold fear grip his heart. He can't believe this. If Barry d- if Barry _left-_ what was he supposed to tell Iris? Barry came into their lives so suddenly and now he was going to leave just the same. He remembered that night when he found Barry outside the kid's house. He was in a squad car when the call came through that there was a possible homicide. The address was familiar and at first Joe thought he heard wrong, but then the same address came through a second time. He had thought someone must have made a mistake- there's not a chance it was his long time friend's house- but then he got to the location. Other officers had already arrived and Joe came just in time to see Henry being cuffed. Everyone was busy running around, apparently the kid was missing. Barry was missing? Eventually it was Joe who found the kid, crying in the yard, watching his dad being arrested.

The kid became a permanent figure in their, his and Iris', lives and Joe will be damned if he let the kid go without a fight. He fought for custody over the kid all those years back, he'll fight again.

"What about Fisher? He must know how to reverse whatever he did." Joe asked, determination setting in.

"We tried, but he refuses to say anything." Caitlin answered. She frowned, angry at the man. How could someone be so heartless and refuse to help when people were dying?

"Let me talk to him." Oliver suggested, but Caitlin shook her head.

"Like I said; we tried talking to him. He won't help."

" _You_ couldn't get him to talk. He hasn't been interrogated by the Arrow yet." A dark gleam flickered over Oliver's eyes, making Caitlin swallow nervously.

 **-TA-TF-**

All the adults were busy and Barry was bored. Oliver went to talk to a man and Joe followed him. Caitlin and Cisco were too busy on computers to pay him attention. When they talked they sounded nervous so Barry didn't want to disturb them. He learned that when adults sound nervous its better to leave them alone or they might get mad.

Barry stood up from where he was sitting on the floor and, glancing to make sure no one noticed, made his way out of the room. Ginger picked his head up watching the kid walk away. The dog stood up and started following Barry curiously. The lab was huge! Everything looked like something out of those sci-fi movies that Barry's dad likes to watch. He felt something furry brush his hands and saw Ginger walking next to him. Sliding his fingers in the dog's thick fur, Barry tangled them in the back of Ginger's neck. The two of them made their way through the lab's hallways, glancing into rooms. Walking past a doorway on his right something flashed in the corner of his eye. Barry stopped, turning to look into the room. His fingers slid from the dog's neck and he slowly made his way in. It smelt bad in here. It smelt like burned rubber and the garage. The room was big and filled with metallic shelves. On the shelves were strange looking gadgets. Sliding his fingers along the shelves he scanned through everything in the room. The objects on the tables made him think of the weapons the Kraang used in his TMNT comics. Astonished by everything, Barry failed to notice where he was going and accidentally knocked his knee on a shelf. Something fell off and hit the ground hard.

"Uh oh." Barry mumbled. He quickly ducked out of the room and made his way back down the hall. No matter how far they walked, it felt like the hallways never ended. Another large doorway peeked Barry's interest. The door was closed so Barry reached up, fingers barely brushing the door knob. Finally grabbing hold of the knob, he twisted it and pushed at the same time. The door swung open revealing another large room- only this time there was only one large machine in the middle of the floor. The machine was either half-built or smashed, because there were wires sticking out everywhere. (If he was his normal age; he would've remembered that this was the first prototype of the treadmill Cisco built. They noticed early into the building process that it wouldn't work- so they abandoned it and moved on to built the one he was currently using in Star labs).

Curious, Barry walked closer to the machine. He failed to notice that some of the wire's rubber coatings were off-and that the machine was plugged into a power source. Something shiny on the floor under the machine drew his eye. If he wanted to get it out, he needed to stick his arm between different wires and metallic limbs. Rolling his sleeve back, he reached between all the debree searching for the coin. His bare arm brushed up against a couple of wires. Something sharp caught on his hand and he pulled back. Blood was forming in a scratch on the side of his palm. He wiped it off on his jeans, before reaching back in. His fingers brushed against the coin barely out of reach. Shuffling closer, he reached further grasping the edge of the coin. A triumphant sound escaped and he pulled back with the coin firmly grasped in his palm. He turned to Ginger, holding up his prize.

"Got it!" The dog wagged its tail. Barry tucked the coin safely in his pocket. Knowing he was gone for awhile, Barry made his way back to Caitlin and Cisco. He didn't want to get into trouble for wandering off and disappearing. He remembered how mad his mom had been when he once walked away from her in the supermarket and disappeared for ten minutes.

He was close to the lab when he heard his name being called. He picked up his pace, running towards where the person was calling from. Halfway down a short staircase he suddenly felt lightheaded and tripped over his own feet. He brought his arms up trying to get his balance, but gravity already caught him and he was falling. Fear filled him as the floor loomed closer. Suddenly something yanked him back on his collar. Instead of falling forward, and down the stairs, he fell backwards on his rear. Ginger released his hold-where he bit down on Barry's collar to save him from falling- and gently licked the kid's cheek as an apology. Barry sat stunned for a few moments, waiting for the lightheadedness to clear.

"Thank you, Ginger." Barry said, rubbing the dog's neck. The person called his name again and Barry stood up, carefully making his way down the stairs.

"Where have you been?" Was the first thing he was asked when he met up with the others.

"Exploring with Ginger." Barry replied. Oliver and Joe were also there. Everyone had a weird look on their face. Barry couldn't figure out what it meant, but he knew it was a bad look. At first he thought it was because he wandered off, but then he noticed Cisco glancing at Oliver, who either didn't notice or pretended he didn't, with the bad look. He pulled the coin out of his pocket, hoping that showing his treasure would cheer everyone up.

"Look what I found!" Barry exclaimed, happily holding up the coin. Joe gave him a smile saying that it was awesome.

"Well, we know how to get him back to normal. Maybe we should do it now?" Cisco suggested.

 **-TA-TF-**

 **AN: I'm soo sorry it took so long to write this chapter . The chapter might be confusing since I did write half of it while being sick :/ sorry about that. Also I skipped writing the interrogation scene and instead wrote a Barry-and-Ginger adventure! I just wanted something with those two x3. Ginger was an idea suggested by a guest :3 Another thing thanks to the guest who pointed out my mistake in the previous chapter! ^.^**

 **Whelp, thanks for reading and sticking with me through such a long wait!***


	6. Chapter 6

**AN: Authors Note at the end of the chapter. Warning for violence, but I'm pretty sure its canon typical violence in Arrow. But still you were warned. So sorry if this upsets you. You can skip this chapter if you want. I made sure to keep this chapter focused on the interrogation so that people can skip it without missing fluff.**

- **TA-TF-**

* **Oliver and Joe's side during the interrogation/ while Barry and Ginger were out adventuring***

An hour later found them standing in the pipeline in front of Fisher's prison.

"Oh yay company," Fisher said, frowning at them all. Directing a particular heated glare in Oliver's direction. Oliver made sure the hood was securely covering his face, before stepping closer.

"How do we change Flash back?" He asked. The man smirked, not the least bit worried.

"I would like to file a request, since I never got my phone call. How about a baseball? Its pretty boring in here." Fisher had moved to stand in the middle of cell. Oliver didn't bother to reply to the man's statement only repeating his question.

"You're a little slow. I'm not answering that."

"Tell us how to turn Flash back."

"Gees, you're persistent aren't ya? No." Fisher's condescending tone was grinding on Oliver's nerves causing him to tighten his grip on his bow. Fisher sent him a bored look.

"Listen, Hood. There's no way to turn him back. So you might as well give up and start looking for a child size coffin."

"Wrong answer." Oliver growled, "Try again."

"Or what? If you haven't noticed there's a thick pane of glass between us." Fisher said, gesturing to the glass with his hands. Oliver turned his head to face Joe. The detective immediately caught on to what Oliver tried saying and called Cisco, asking them to open the cell. There was a moment of silence where Joe caught Oliver's eye, searching for something. He must have found it, because he answered 'Yes' into the phone and soon the glass opened. Fisher had a moment of panic on his face, before he slipped back into a smug smile.

"Letting me go then? Finally gave up?" Fisher asked, his smug smile growing. Neither of them answered. Fisher made to take a step out of the cell, hesitation clear, but before he could pass the threshold an arrow whistled past him. The arrow caught the material of his shoulder, sending him backwards to the wall. Another one flew this time catching his shirt, barely missing the skin on his ribs. A surprised yell left Fisher's mouth.

"You missed. Twice. Not very impressive." Fisher said trying to sound brave. Oliver switched his bow to his other hand and strode into the cell standing arms length from the man.

"How. Do. We. Fix. Flash." He ground out every word. A sweat droplet formed on the side of Fisher's face, slowly rolling down. The man gave a weak smirk, not backing down.

"Well, you see, I have this sibling who lives in Coast City. She was with me when this _power_ began working. She can reverse him." Fisher said keeping his face straight. The comm link in his ear clicked on and he could clearly hear Cisco and Caitlin's voices:

"I don't know. This seems a little far fetched: I mean two siblings with oppisite powers? C'mon." Caitlin's voice rang through, filled with disbelief.

"Really? Have you seen our lives this past year? We fight metahumans who can do impossible things- like control the weather- and a speedster from the future came back to-" Cisco's voice faltered here "-you know and got stuck here. I'm surprised we didn't see this coming"

"Whatever, I'm not buying it."

Oliver agreed with Caitlin and grabbed an arrow. Instead of knocking it in his bow he brought it up and ,using it as a dagger, stabbed it into the man's shoulder. A surprised scream left Fisher. He could hear Caitlin and Cisco object his actions in his ear. Grabbing the comm he tossed it to the floor. Joe was oddly silent.

"Bullshit. You have one more chance." Oliver warned, not releasing his hold on the arrow. Fisher grit his teeth, not answering. Oliver slid his hand forward on the arrow, pressing on the wound with his thumb. "There's two options: either you tell me and spend a couple years in prison or don't and spend years recovering in the hospital."

"Look I don't know! Its not like I fucking asked for this-much less know how to handle it," Fisher gasped out between painful breaths. Oliver eased up on the pressure, but didn't let go. The man continued trying to convince Oliver, but saw that his efforts were failing, "Blood tests! Run tests or-or something. This is a lab right? It looks like a lab."

"We tried. The victim's blood contains nothing that can help us." Joe spoke for the first time. The man frowned, licking his lips nervously.

"Then take my blood. I did it, maybe _my_ blood can help."

A few tense moments passed, before Joe nodded.

"We'll try that. You better hope it will work," Joe said, giving Fisher a glare that Oliver's pretty sure made criminal's fess up fast in interrogation. "Let him go."

Oliver stepped back from the man. Fisher relaxed, but made a pained sound when it stirred the arrow still stuck in his shoulder. He grabbed the edge of the arrow, slowly dragging it out. It made Oliver think of when a person tried taking a bandage of slowly, thinking that it would lessen the pain. The idea was ridiculous. Its better to just rip it off and get it over with. So that's what he did. Oliver stepped forward gripping the arrow-and before the man could even protest- pulled it out. Fisher gave another pained cry, but the other two arrow's prevented him from sliding down. It may have seemed cruel, but Oliver was actually doing the man a favor by pulling it out quickly. Gathering the other two arrows he finally made his way out of the prison.

"I'll ask for a medkit," Joe said, but his tone clearly made it sound like he'd rather not.

 **-TA-TF-**

"That was SO not necessary!" Cisco cried when they stepped into the lab. Oliver flicked off his hood, giving Cisco a blank stare. Cisco was clearly upset and started waving his arms around as he ranted; "That was uncalled for! You didn't need to _torture_ the guy!"

"That was not torture." Oliver replied evenly, setting his bow and arrows down on a table. Cisco gave him a look of disbelief.

"Really? My bad. What was that then? Because that was not an interrogation!" Cisco continued yelling, ignoring Caitlin's voice telling him to calm down. Oliver turned to face Cisco and crossed his arms.

"You realise Barry is dying? Should we let him die so a lowlife criminal can avoid injury?" Oliver asked. Cisco tried responding, but he cut him off, "Well I'm not going to allow that. Barry is more important than Fisher and I'll be damned if I let anything happen to him."

Silence filled the lab. Joe looked between the two. He knew Oliver's methods were wrong, but he agreed with the hooded vigilante. He understood in a way that only a parent could. Even though Oliver probably didn't realise it, he was acting like a real parent who would do anything to protect his kid. Of course Joe was not about to point this out and instead looked around noticing Barry's absence. Where's the kid? When he voiced his thought, everyone immediately glanced around looking for the four-year old.

Caitlin called his name a few times and the kid finally showed up, looking slightly out of breath. When he questioned the kid's whereabouts the kid simply said that he went exploring with Ginger. Realising the growing friendship between the boy and dog, Joe smiled. The West household never really had dogs, even though Iris and Barry kept begging him for one. Maybe they should've gotten one...

The kid continued to show a coin he got who-knows-where and Joe praised him. Eventually it was Cisco who suggested they needed to continue. Right. There were blood tests to run.

 **-TF-TA-**

 **AN: Well then...so sorry if this seemed angsty or something Dx. I just really wanted to write something that shows that Oliver would do anything to protect Barry (much like a parent would do for their kids) I will make it up to you by making the next chapter extra fluffy. Hint: it might involve the park :3 and flash suit x3**


	7. Chapter 7

**-TA-TF-**

Barry wandered around the room examining everything. There was this nagging feeling in the back of his mind, almost like he was forgetting something, or that he was supposed to recognise all this. Weird thing is he knows he has never been to Star Labs. He came to a stop in front of a glass case which held a red suit inside. Tilting his head to the side, Barry continued examining the suit. It was red all over with a lightning bolt in the middle. He heard footsteps coming closer, but ignored it, completely transfixed by the red suit inside the glass case. Out the corner of his eye he saw Cisco kneel down beside him.

"Who's is this?" Barry asked, pointing to the suit.

"Its mine- well uh actually its yours." Cisco answered, correcting himself mid sentence. Barry turned, gaping at him.

"Mine?"

"Yeah! Its pretty cool." Cisco had a huge smile lighting up his face. Barry continued to stare at him in disbelief. How was this his?

"But...I don't get it..." Barry mumbled confused. Cisco moved to sit down completely instead of kneeling on his haunches. He rubbed his hands together like he was about to tell the world's greatest story. Barry sat down cross-legged next to him.

"Well, its actually yours when you grow up. You get to do all these impossible and amazing things." Cisco started waving his hands around as he talked, "You get to go uhm..."

"On adventures?"

"Yes! You get to go on adventures and save people."

"Really?" Barry glanced between Cisco and the suit. He couldn't believe it. He got to go on adventures when he's older! Apparently he also gets to save people like heroes do in the movies. Cisco, who's been staring at the suit, turned to give Barry a geniune smile.

"Yeah. You're a real hero. Everyday you're going to save people. You face down bad guys without being afraid or giving up." Cisco said. Barry turned so he was on his knees facing Cisco.

"Do you help? Are you a hero too?" Barry asked. Cisco laughed, shaking his head.

"I'm not a hero, but I do help out. I kind of made the suit. And I built a lot of gadgets that you- or others- use." Barry turned his head to the side, frowning.

"Sounds to me like you're a hero," Barry grinned, "we're like a team of heroes."

Cisco looked momentarilly surprised, before laughing.

"Yeah I guess you're right. You, me and Caitlin. We make an awesome team." There was a moment of silence where both stared at the red Flash suit. Eventually Cisco broke the silence asking; "You want to know why the bad guys are afraid of you?" Head nod "Because you're the fastest man alive."

For some reason that made Barry want to laugh. Cisco joined him and soon both of them were clutching their stomaches, trying to soothe that ache you get from laughing too long.

"What kind of adventures?" Barry asked and listened intently as Cisco began talking about robbers, tricksters and a guy who could freeze anything (When Barry had said 'Frozone' Cisco nearly choked laughing)

 **-TA-TF-**

"Oliver, calm down." Joe said, chuckling at said man. Oliver glanced over to him confused. That's when he realised his leg was practically bouncing up and down from anxiety.

"You look like a parent who's about to send his kid off to kindergarten for the first time." The detective mocked. He was caught between glaring or giving Joe a sheepish smile.

"Sorry. I just don't trust, Fisher." Oliver said, crossing his arms. Cursing their luck he frowned while looking over to where Cisco was talking to Barry. He didn't trust people, much less this Fisher guy, and now Fisher was possibly their only hope at turning Barry back to normal.

"I know what you mean. The last time this lab put their trust in a criminal it ended badly." The look on Joe's face darkened and Oliver knew the detective was thinking about the incident with Leonard Snart. He had learned through Barry what happened. Needless to say he was not impressed with Barry or Snart. Snart for obvious reasons and Barry for actually trusting a bad guy.

Suddenly the kid was standing in front of him, pulling at his shirt to get his attention.

"Can we go outside?" Barry asked. Oliver frowned, not really liking the idea. He was about to say no when Joe answered for him. "Sure. We've been here for hours. Maybe you can go to the park?".

Oliver gave him a look of disbelief while Barry cheered. "He's sick. Do you really think he should go outside?" He asked concerned for Barry's safety. It was better to keep Barry in the lab where he'll be safe and close to any medical care incase he needed it.

"Well its not like its the common cold besides he seems better now," Joe tried convincing him, "and if something were to happen- which it won't- then just bring him back."

Oliver crossed his arms putting up a angry front, but already knew he lost this battle.

"You know, I'm not a babysitter." He couldn't help, but grumble before walking away. Joe laughed and tossed him the keys to his car.

"But you make such a great one. I might just recommend you to a few people who need a good babysitter."

 **-TA-TF-**

The park was bright and loud. Couples were walking around with screaming kids running in between them. A few dogs were playing with their owners. This was a good thing since Barry insisted they bring Ginger along with them. Oliver spotted a park set with nearby benches. The kid immediately set off for the swings, leaving Oliver to follow him at a reluctant pace. He watched Barry swing while he just awkwardly stood there a few paces away. What do parents usually do at parks?

"Oliver! Push me!" Barry demanded from his spot on the swing.

"Well when you say it like that how can I refuse?" replied Oliver sarcastically. Nevertheless he stepped behind Barry and took hold of the swing's ropes. He backed up a few paces, before realising his hold and watched as the swing moved forward. Barry straightened his legs as he moved forward, and folded them back when he changed directions. As the swing drew closer again, Oliver pushed it lightly with his foot. A few minutes passed where they started building momentum. Soon the swing came about waist high and he was able to push it with his hands. The whole time Barry let out shrieks of laughter whenever he surged forward.

"Higher!" The kid demanded. Oliver laughed and did as the kid asked, pushing slightly harder. A few more swings and the kid was reaching chest height. This time Oliver slowed between pushes, not wanting the kid to go too high.

"Guess what, Oliver!" Barry yelled, voice drifting softer then louder as he moved, "I'm a hero! Cisco says so."

"Really?" Oliver asked humoring the kid.

"Yup, Its so cool! Cisco told me all about the Trickster and-and the guy who can control weather. I would like to control the weather. I'd make it snow all day."

"Why snow?"

"Because of Christmas, dummy!" Oliver wanted to explain that, that's not how it works, but decided against it. Instead he just listened as Barry started talking about his favorite thing about Christmas. Presents were of course on top (as they are for most little kids) and atleast Family was a close second.

"Stop. I want to go slide." The kid said, already starting to squirm in the seat. Oliver quickly grabbed the chain and seat stopping it, not wanting Barry to jump off and get hurt. The kid dashed to the jungle gym next to the swings.

Oliver scanned the park. Noticing a bench not so far away, he decided sitting is better than standing around looking lost. The bench was close enough that if he raised his voice slightly Barry will still be able hear him. It also completely faced the jungle gym set so he could keep an eye on Barry. The sun was getting hot so he took off his jacket and bunched it up, placing it on the seat next to him. He leaned his back on the bench and stretched out his legs, crossing them at the ankles. The heat of the sun on his skin and sounds of the park instantly set a relaxed mood. Crossing his arms he noticed Barry move from the swings to the slide. He was climbing up one of those walls which only had the ropes crisscrossing between the beams. The kid's foot got trapped by the rope for a second, before he managed to shake it lose and could continue on his climb. Another kid, blonde with a black sweater, joined Barry on his climb. Barry paused at the top, waiting for the kid. Once the kid reached the top a short conversation followed, before both of them went for the slide.

Oliver noticed a presence beside him and turned to see a young woman standing next to him.

"May I...?" She gestured to the seat. Oliver nodded, politely moving his jacket to his other side. The blonde woman smiled and sat down next to him. She was looking towards the kid that was playing with Barry. Oliver noticed the slight resemblance between the two. She must be his mother. Ginger, who till now was laying at Oliver's feet, stood up and made his way towards Barry. Barry slid down the slide and received a happy lick on the nose from Ginger once he reached the ground. The kid scrunched his nose in an adorable way, petting Ginger's head.

"He doesn't really look like you." The woman commented. She pointed to Barry when Oliver gave her a confused look. He smiled, shaking his head.

"He's not my kid. He's-" a short pause followed while Oliver tried finding the right words, "-a friend of mine's kid. I'm just looking after him."

The woman nodded, eyes traveling back to her kid. She still looked young, but old enough to believe she had a little kid. Her smile was kind and so were her blue eyes.

"I'm Kate Miller. Since you asked and didn't just stare at me like a creep." She joked, glancing at Oliver. He sent her a sheepish smile and held out his hand in greeting.

"Sorry. I didn't mean to. I'm Oliver

Queen."

"Why does that name sound vaguely familiar?" The woman, Kate, asked curious while shaking his hand. Oliver turned back to Barry crossing his arms and returned back to his position of leaning against the bench.

"My family may have been in the news a few times." He answered not expanding further. Kate seemed to notice his reluctance and dropped the subject. Instead she told him her son's name, Ben, and went on about his antics at school.

"Gosh. I'm sorry," Kate said, stopping mid sentence in her story about how Ben raised money for his school fund-raiser, "I didn't even realise I've been ranting. You probably don't even care." An embarresed blush rose up high on her cheeks. She glanced down and nervously wrung her hands together on her lap. A scream made Oliver glance towards Barry concerned, but the kid was only playing with Ben.

"Its okay. I don't mind. Go on." He encouraged. Kate stared at him for a few moments then straightened up. She shook her head laughing.

"No, no. I think I've talked enough. Rather tell me about you." Ginger came trotting over and nuzzled Oliver's hand. He brought his hand up, rubbing the dog's ears.

"Well, for starters I don't live in Central-" He gave Ginger a confused frown when the dog interrupted him barking, "I'm from Starling City."

"Really? I have family in Starling..." Kate trailed off when Ginger started licking Oliver's palms. Oliver drew his hand back slightly disgusted at the amount of drool.

"What's wrong with you?" He asked wiping the palm of his hand on the rough fabric of his jeans. Kate giggled when Ginger grabbed his wrist and tugged, growling playfully. Oliver stumbled upright when the dog tugged harder.

"I think he wants to play." Kate explained. Spotting a stick on the floor, Oliver picked it up and threw it. Ginger's head followed the movement of the stick, before turning back to Oliver. His tongue poked out as he panted still staring at Oliver. Oliver gave the dog an incredulous look, ignoring Kate's amused laughter.

"Seriously? You're a highly trained police dog, but you can't play fetch?" A happy bark. "Right." He turned back to Kate, who by now was thoroughly amused by the specticle, and gave a mock laugh of his own. Oliver's name sounded from the playground and he instantly recognized Barry's voice, but when he turned the kid was nowhere in sight. He tensed, instantly feeling like something was wrong since both Barry and Ben were gone. He started jogging over to the parkset and missed the confused expression Kate sent him. Once he drew near he peeked over the top of the parkset, but saw no one. The set itself is fairly big with two towers connected by a rope bridge. The one tower had something like a fire pole to climb up on the right and a yellow slide across from that. A tire swing hung on the bottom beneath the tower's platform. Most of the parkset was made out of wood. The other tower was slightly different. It had almost an 'L' shape with the bridge extending from the short branch. The long branch of the 'L' had a wall going down the length of it from the grass to the floor of the tower. It was one of those walls with the different shape and colour holds to climb up. One end of the tower held the two diagonal beams with the ropes crisscrossing between them that Barry climbed up earlier. Oliver ducked under here to peer beneath the parkset. The wall casted a long shadow, dimming the sunlight slightly.

"Barry?" Oliver called as he backed away from the set. He called the kid's name again louder this time. Walking to the other tower he once again peered over the top. This tower was lower than the other one so he had to place his hands on the platform for leverage, before bending down and searching underneath for Barry and Ben. Suddenly he heard soft footsteps sneak up behind him.

"Boo!" Two shrill voiced yelled. Two pair of hands grabbed him simultaneously from the top of the tower and on the ground behind him. Ben had snuck up behind him and grabbed his left leg while Barry somehow managed to climb on the tower and grabbed Oliver's shoulder. Both kid's started laughing, happy that they succeeded in surprising Oliver. Even Kate, who had followed a few paces behind him, was laughing.

"Gotcha!" Barry taunted. The kid was laying flat on his stomach with his arms and head hanging over the edge of the tower platform. Oliver gave him an evil look. "Oh really?"

Barry's eyes widened and he tried scrambling away from Oliver, but was too slow. Oliver reached out, grabbing the kid and managed to pull him off the platform. Barry laughed, protesting loudly against the action. He managed to get a firm grip on the kid's waist and flipped him upside down, holding him by the ankles so he wouldn't fall. The amused laughter grew louder and the kid wiggled trying to break free.

"Well this means you're a bad guy and bad guys should be thrown in jail." Oliver stated. He noticed Ben trying to sneak away. The blond kid was biting his lip, probably trying to hold back laughter. "Oh no you don't." Oliver reached out, managing to catch the kid around the waist before he could run away. He hoisted the kid up and threw him over his shoulder, holding on to the back of his knees so the kid wouldn't fall. Now both of the kid's were shrieking, begging to be let down. Laughter broke their sentences into a incomprehensible mess. Eventually Oliver lowered them down carefully, placing them on their feet. Both their faces were flushed and they struggled trying to catch their breath. Barry nudged Ben with his elbow and they both dashed off to the other side of the parkset where they climbed up. Oliver moved to stand next to a grinning Kate. She sat down on the grass and motioned for Oliver to do the same. They sat there for an hour talking idly and watching the kid's play with Oliver occasionally trying to get Ginger to play fetch.

Soon Barry ran over, plopping down in front of Oliver. The kid was giving him large pleading eyes and Oliver frowned in suspicion.

"Can we get ice cream? Please?" Barry asked. Oliver glanced around and noticed that there was one of those little cafe shops you usually get on beaches or public parks in the distance. Oliver turned back to Barry, who started pouting, and smiled.

"Sure." Oliver turned to Kate asking her if they'd like to join them. Kate shook her head apologetically. "Can't. Ben and I need to get home. But thank you for the offer."

"Not a problem. It was a pleasure to meet you." Oliver greeted standing up, and dusting off his jeans. He held out his hand offering to help Kate up. She took his hand and stood up, already calling for Ben to come to her.

"Don't forget your jacket." Kate said, pointing to the bench. Oliver glanced to the bench where he left his jacket. Ginger saw to where she was pointing and ran off in that direction. To everyone's (mostly Oliver and Kate) amazement the dog grabbed the jacket with his mouth and came trotting back. Oliver could only gape when Ginger dropped the jacket by Kate's feet.

"Oh. I guess he does know how to play fetch." Kate laughed.

 **-TA-TF-**

 **AN: This is only part one of the whole park thing. I decided to rather break it up into two chapters.**

 **Sorry for the long wait. I somehow managed to screw the chapter up and had to retype the whole thing :/ which is also why the chapter might either be rushed and/or confusing...**

 **My thanks and love to all your continued support 3 X**


	8. Chapter 8

Joe had his phone out, ready to text Oliver to head back to the lab, when he heard both of them enter the room. Barry held a plastic cup trying to scoop out the last bit of ice cream from the bottom. Chocolate ice cream coated the kid's chin, cheeks and even nose. A dark stain stood out on the front of Barry's shirt where a spoonful of ice cream must have fallen earlier. Oliver was trailing behind him finishing off his own cup. Joe was happy to know that they both got back without any trouble. Even though he seemed fine with Barry going to the park, he still worried. He was afraid for the kid's safety and will remain so till they reverse whatever the metahuman did.

Joe greeted both of them asking about their outing. Barry immediatly set off talking about some kid named Ben and how they both raced on the park sets, he also mentioned how the woman at the shop gave him extra toppings on his ice cream. The kid continued enthuastically talking about his day even when Oliver bent down napkin in hand, trying to wipe off the sticky mess on Barry's face. He only scrunched his nose trying to talk from behind the napkin causing half of his words to be muffled.

The adorable moment was broken when Cisco, who checked the monitor at his desk, made a weirdly distressed sound that immediatly caught everyone's attention. A few more moments of furious typing passed, before he informed everyone else of what was happening.

"We got a problem.." Cisco finally turned away from the monitor to face the rest of the team.

"What's wrong? Is it Barry?"

"No. Apperently Captain Cold is currently robbing the bank and causing havoc at the park across from the building." The genius nervously wrung his hands together, glancing at Barry, "And the authorities can't handle him alone." Now he directed his attention to Oliver, who immediatly tensed up knowing what Cisco wanted to ask.

"No." He answered the unvoiced question. Everyone in the room was surprised, but Caitlin was the first one to ask 'why', to which Oliver replied with: "Because well firstly its the middle of the day-"

"Well, not really. The sun has already started setting." Oliver gave a small glare at Cisco's helpful input.

"-and secondly: there's probably a bunch of cops at the scene. I don't know if you're aware, but they tend not to like me." Rolling his eyes, Joe stepped forward giving Oliver's shoulder a light shove.

"That's what's stopping you? Like Cisco said its already sundown, meaning there's not a lot of light outside, and I'm sure they can do something about the people at the scene?" Joe reasoned. He turned towards the other two occupents of the room searching for an answer to his question. Both nodded, stating they could have the area cleared out by the time Oliver gets there. The Starling resident frowned, clenching and unclenching his jaw, mulling things over. Eventually a look of defeat filled his posture, before he reluctantly agreed.

-TA-TF-

Leonard Snart, aka Captain Cold, was busy creating anarchy from his spot in the middle of the street. Lisa and Mick had just loaded the last of the duffle bags and drove off, but Leonard stayed behind wanting to slow down the CCPD just a little- plus he was having a lot of fun. When it seemed the cops were busy pulling back, his curiosty peeked, and he stayed for a little longer trying to figure out what was happening.

"Snart." A deep voice called from behind him. One eyebrow crept up, questioning the new voice. Turning around, he smirked seeing the green clad vigilante.

"Well. You're a long way from home, Dorothy." Captain Cold drawled. The vigilante stood far enough from Leonard that he could barely make out what little part of the Starling Vigilante's face is not covered by the hood. "Sorry. What do they usually call you? Arrow?"

He received no answer, which made him frown. Part of the fun was making Flash react to his constant mocking, but the Arrow wasn't showing any form of response. Well they can't have that, time to change tactics. "How's Flash by the way? Enjoying being a kid again."

The sun behind the vigilante was bright, but thanks to his sunglasses it was only a minor annoyance. This time Arrow tilt his head up slightly and Snart could practically see his frown through the green hood.

"Don't be surprised." Captain Cold mocked, his condescending tone grating on Oliver's nerves, "I have contacts everywhere- including your slum of a city." He shot a blast from his gun at the a tree, instantly freezing it from top to bottom on one side, trying either to make a point or because he was bored. Barry didn't talk much about the guy so Oliver couldn't be sure of his intentions. Once again his lack of response seemed to annoy Snart and Oliver fought back an amused smile. He knew that his actions was frustrating the man.

"Fine. Not much of a talker." Captain Cold clasped the edges of his hood, which had fallen down at some point, bringing it back up to cover his head, "Just make sure you help the Flash back to normal." Oliver was confused at the statement, not entirely sure why one of Central's criminals would care whether the Flash was back to normal. Leonard seemed to have picked up on his trail of thoughts, because he smirked in a way that immediatly unsettled Oliver. "Without the scarlet speedster heists are incredibly _easy_ which means they're _boring._ I like a challenge."

Captain Cold made as if to walk away so Arrow knocked an arrow, brought it up and released it a split second later ,not willing to just let the man walk away. Experience from fighting the fastest man alive made sure Len's reflexs improved, enabling him to move his body so instead of the arrow driving through his thigh, which would immobilise him, it instead hit the hard bone of his hip, at least this way he had a chance of getting away. A grunt of pain escaped him. Okay this was another thing he wasn't used to. At least Flash never shot him with sharp pointy things- and the vigilante seemed to get this since his stance all but screamed 'smug'.

"You're coming with me." Arrow finally spoke up again, his voice as deep as the first time he spoke. Clasping a tight hand over the wound, Captain Cold smirked causing Arrow to take a weary stance.

"One thing you have to know about me," his drawl seemed even thicker now, as he shifted backwards slightly, "I plan heists thoroughly."

A whirring and click sounded from somewhere, out of the corner of his eye Arrow noticed something fly towards him. He rolled away narrowly missing the glinting device that embedded itself on the road were he himself stood not seconds ago. It gave another click and a hiss like escaping gas followed. Ice and snow started piling from the device, creating a cold barrier between the two men.

Too late Arrow realised that it was only a distraction. He cursed loudly when he looked up, seeing that Captain Cold had dissappeared. Standing up, he passed his bow to his other hand already comming Cisco and Caitlin.

-TA-TF-

The arrow resisted slightly, before sliding out. Leonard cursed, applying pressure on the wound. The offending weapon clattered down the alley. He pressed his back to the wall hearing the far off sound of emergency service sirens. They were to far to actually pose a threat. He didn't realise he had closed his eyes till a young voice spoke up and he opened them to find a small kid standing a few paces from him. The kid had a weary look on his face, starring at Leonard, who raised his eyebrow in a questioning manner.

"You should not be out alone, kid. There's bad people on the street." He said, pushing down his hood and removing his sunglasses.

"Are you a bad person?"

The question made him laugh. He took a better look at the kid. The green jacket was at least a size to big and the ends of his jeans were frayed from where the kid kept stepping on them. A familiar pair of eyes stared up at him from below a brown mess of hair.

"What is your name?" Lennard asked, already knowing the answer. His hunch was proven right when the kid answered with 'Barry.'

He shook his head, unable to believe this situation. So it was true, the scarlet speedster managed to turn himself into a little kid. A tiny, dark part of his mind was telling him that he should take advantage of this situation, get rid of the Flash once and for all, but it quickly died down. Leonard felt slightly disgusted. Not even he would harm a kid- no matter who they were when they grew up. Besides it would be too easy.

"You're hurt." Barry mumbled, vowels being half pronounced like little kid's have the tendency of stubbornly doing before they hit a certain age. The kid touched his arm lightly and Snart drew it back, revealing the crimson coating his fingers. The digusted look that washed over Barry's face was mixed with one of concern. Of course the damn kid was caring of everybody even at such a young age. Rolling his eyes, Snart assured the kid that it was nothing. "Just a scratch. Nothing a little dissenfectant can't fix." He joked. Actually he hasn't taken a close look at the wound yet so he's not sure how bad it really is, but he's not currently laying sprawled on the floor bleeding out, so that has to be a good sign.

" _Barry."_ A getting-familiar voice called from the opening of the alleyway. Turning around, the kid grinned noticing Arrow.

"Lose something?" Snart drawled, trying to provoke the man. Barry took a few steps toward Arrow, but Leonard shot his hand out catching him by the shoulder. He's against hurting children, but right now he might need the kid's help in gettting out of this. "Hold on, kid." He mumbled before turning his attention to Arrow, "Look you seem like a smart guy so you know how this goes: you let me go, I let him go, everyone's happy. But-" Snart took his freeze gun out of its holster, bloody fingers slipping slightly on the cold metal. The green-clad vigilante immediatly tensed up. "-Well you know."

"You should know that it did not end well for the last guy who tried that." The Arrow practically growled. Smirking, Snart made sure he did not look fazed.

"My guess is the other guy was some pathetic junkie," He cocked his head to the side, "do I look like a junkie to you?"

Both men stared at each other, neither willing to back down. Eventually it was Barry's small voice that broke the silence; "Don't hurt someone again like you did the other guy."

If Snart was willing to break his stare he would've given the kid an amusedly astonished look. So it was true, someone had tried something similar to this and it had probably ended with the man heavily injured or worse- dead. If he didn't know how fucked up this world already was he would've been appalled at the fact that someone would kill in front of a kid- then again the vigilante did not seem like the parent-of-the-year type.

It didn't matter since what the kid said seemed to work, because the Arrow gave a kurt nod, but kept a tight grip on his bow.

"Let him go and leave." His voice undeniably held the promise that if he had to he would not hesitate in using the bow. Snart gave one more once-over before loosening his grip, stepping back. Barry immediatly rushed over to Arrow. While the vigilante was distracted in checking the kid over, he slipped away.

Oliver swiflty gave Barry a once-over, checking for any visible injuries. He glanced up, but Captain Cold had already dissappeared. Turning back to Barry, he gave the kid an experate look.

"How do you always manage to slip out after me?"

What scared Oliver the most was the fact that Barry might just be _scared_ of him. For some reason that knowledge made his gut churn uneasily. That fear he saw in the kid's eyes reminded him so much of how Tommy looked at him when he first found out that he was the vigilante. He could feel bile crawl up the back of his throat and he hopes he'll never have to see Barry look at him like that again.

 **-TA-TF-**

Hours later already found him on his way back to Starling City. Once Barry and him had gotten back to the lab Caitlin had informed him that they were done with the serum. They had found a way to turn Barry back to his dorky, normal self. Oliver had experienced a strange sad feeling in his chest at the words. Of course he was happy that Barry will be back, but he can't help the growing feeling of dissappointment. The kid unexpecticly managed to worm his way into his heart. Joe must have had a sixth sense or something, because he came up to him joking about how Oliver was suffering from seperation anxiety like a true mom. (Oliver had colourfully told Joe how he felt about that statement and earned a horrified gasp from Barry who was not pleased at Oliver's use of 'bad words')

They told him that it would take a couple of hours, maybe even an entire day or two, for the serum to kick in. He wanted to stay till he could see for himself that Barry will be fine, but in the end he decided it was time to take his leave. There was no need for him to actually be there anymore. For the record saying goodbye to the kid had not broken his heart one bit. Nope. Not at all.

Barry, however, sported a dejected look after finding out that Oliver was leaving. Racing over, the kid had wound his arms tightly around his waist hugging him to which Oliver bent down, returning it in irnest.

Yeah, he is definitly going to miss four-year old Barry.

 **-TA-TF-**

 **..Aaaaand its done. Not gonna lie; this feels bitter sweet! The first multichap storie I finish and its all thanks to you guys and your continued support 3 . Seriously, I'm grateful to all of you. I wanted to have atleast one Central Criminal in this story before I ended it and thus why Captain Cold made an appearance.**

 **Even though I'm done with this story its not the end! I was thinking of posting another story which will consist of one-shots of Oliver and lil!Barry moments that did not make it into this book. But the one shots won't follow up on each other, they'll just be random moments or drabbles.**

 **Anywho, once again thanks for all the comments/favourties/follows and even just for reading :)**

 **X**


	9. Sequel

**AN:** **Hey everyone! So I've had a few people ask me to write a sequel to this story…**

 **There is a second book out named; "Maybe I'm waking up today'**

 **Here's how the second book is gonna work. It'll mostly contain some of the chapters that never made it into the story . The chapters won't really follow up on each other (although some will) .**

 **The second book is for you guys, so you all can leave prompts or ideas of anything you would've liked to see in CML. I might add it to the second book. I might not get to writing the prompts immediately since I have a lot of school work, but I'll try my best to update as fast as I can . Also some chapters might be slightly AU from the original story (for example Barry never got turned back to normal or whatnot)**

 **Thanks again for reading 'Come Morning Light' xx**


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